Tough Luck
by TheTrueWolfBrother
Summary: Trying to combine Azu with some harsh reality and making a serious fic out of it. Going to start out as Tomocentric. Rated M for Language, some violence, serious situations, and probable Shoujoai
1. Chapter 1

What would happen if reality ( the really harsh kind) reared it´s ugly head and bit AD in the behind?  
This is one of the versions of AD that might pop up in that case.

This might actually be going somewhere :P

Disclaimer: I don´t own Azumanga Daioh

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The end of yet another day drew nearer on Tokyo as we gaze over the suburbian landscape. The blue sky is dotted by a few white clouds here and there, drifting westwards in the stirring breeze that´s been blowing all day. The sun is casting it´s last hourworth of light down over a schoolyard , cluttered with a few pieces of trash and rock.

As the schoolbell rings to announce the end of the schoolday the breeze blow a breadwrapper over the schoolyard. A dozen silent seconds pass...and then the beginning of a spear of students force itself out through the doors leading to freedom at breakneck speed.  
The rush of springloaded youngsters is over almost before it begins, as only some part of the school´s attendants got the need and energy to get out so quickly.

A few minutes later the more easy-going students come walking out in small clusters of friends. We zoom in on one of these as they enter the schoolyard, some of them chatting happily.

It was the first day after the summer holiday so just about everybody had things they wanted share with their friends.

Chiyo was the one currently talking, chirping away about her trip to hawaii with her parents. She was the only one of the girls that´d been overseas. Osaka had been back in, well, Osaka , Sakaki had visited some family in Sendai and Yomi had been to Kyoto. Kagura had spent the entire summer ( except for that one slack trip to Chiyo´s summer home ) in hardcore training. And lastly Tomo didn´t seem to have done anything, but since she hadn´t spoken up all day the girls had been lost in their own stories.

"And then we went freediving in the co- ACK!" Chiyo cried out as Tomo whacked her over the head. Tomo struck a pose with her left hand on her hip and her right 45 degrees up, nearly twacking Sakaki in her face. "As you were fattening yourself and carelessly callousing around yours truly remained behind to protect and serve the community to which you´d all eventually return to."

Chiyo looked up at the grinning Wildcat, trying to come up with the words that would save her another whack over the head. "Ah..uhm...that´s very selfless of you Tomo-san, did anything dangerous happen here then?"

"You´re damn right something dangerous happened here! It just so happens that I was around to apprehend some delinquent kids that were smoking, rescue a cat from a tree, poor thing, and I even had to chase off some burglars!"

The last words of Tomo´s statement drew some gasps from some of the girls ( well, the one from Sakaki was probably due to Tomo saving a cat ), but others eyed her warily.

"Whose house were they trying to rob?!" Osaka gaped at her. Tomo waved her hand in a dissmissive gesture. "They weren´t breaking into a house, it was the local store! I was out patrolling when I heard a window break and then I saw these shadowy figures moving back and forth between the store and a small car. Hastily I thought up a plan and I called out to nobody in particular "Hey, it´s here! Lets go guys!". Then I started making a ruckus like a bunch people pushing aside garbage cans and whatnot. The fellons moved fast into their car and run over the parking lot lawn to run away."

"Ooooohhh!"

Yomi and Kagura were both eyeing Tomo suspiciously over the heads of Osaka and Chiyo praising and questioning Tomo. Tomo was happy that she´d finally regained everybodies attention, if at least for a short while.

The party soon went out of the schoolyard and headed left. As soon as they came to a crossing , though, Tomo went another way. "Seeya tomaz guys!" Posing in the midday sun Tomo grinned and flashed a peace-sign.

Before the girls got a word in she had crossed the street and were heading down towards the sun setting over the park.

Kagura thought Tomo had been acting odd all day, her taking off towards the park was also something unusual. ´Well´ she gave the thought a mental shrug ´none of my concern, I gotta get home so I can start on my afternoon run.´.

Thus the girls parted into even smaller clicks and eventually wound up at their respective houses.

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As she entered her home Kagura quickly tossed off her shoes, yelled a "Yo, I´m going on my afternoon run" and ran up the stairs to her room to change. Safely inside her room she threw off her clothes in a flurry, donned a brownishred sweatsuit and ran back down. As she was donning her shoes she heard her mother call from the living room. "Dinner will be ready in an hour."

"Ok, I´ll be here by then! Cya!" Kagura slammed the door after her, not intentionally , of course, but this happens when you´re strong and distracted. "Slam"

Kagura was out and running on the streets in a flash, a determined look on her face. ´Today I´ll make 10 miles before my hour´s up. I have to push myself!´

Setting off at a smooth, fast rythm Kagura knew was too fast in the long run, for her weak body that was. She wouldn´t give in this time.

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Tomo had spent the last hour watching the sun settle on the horizon from a bench overlooking a pond in the park. The breeze that had been blowing all day tugged at her hair and sent the occasional shiver through her body.

She looked down on the cigarette in her fingers in mock surprise before taking a long drag of it. She felt the smoke roll over her tongue and inhaled it as soon as she finished the drag. The smoke burned her throat as it traveled down towards her lungs, but she didn´t cough, it was almost soothing by now. She exhaled and the smoke billowed out between her lips in a concentrated cone. After a second or so she felt the sensation of the nicotine spread and her head swam for a few seconds.

With a sigh she finished the cigarette and leant forwards, hands between her legs and elbows on her knees, staring at the sun. " I don´t want to go home just yet..."

Kagura was panting and wheezing by the time she came to the park. Staggering, she made it to a bench and plopped down. When she regained her breath she hit her thigh, hard. "Damn! Why do I have to be so weak!? Some of the boys on the swimteam wouldn´t have a problem like this. There are even some of the girls I´ll be swimming against soon that´d think of this as a gentle stroll!." Feeling the tears threatening to gush forth Kagura suppressed a whimper. Somehow she managed to shut everything out, she couldn´t break down, not now. If she was going to cry she could do it at home, alone, where noone would see her weakness.

Standing up she prepared to jog through the park and what little remained to her house. The late summer breeze cooled her down somewhat as she set off again.

She didn´t have to run long before she saw Tomo sitting on a bench on top of a crest, slightly shadow by the setting sun. Then she raised her hand to her mouth and something glowed, Kagura was shocked as she saw the smoke come billowing out of Tomo´s mouth. Kagura took a glance at Tomo´s eyes and they seemed almost glazed over, like her mind was somewhere off in the distance.

Kagura decided that it´s about time someone taught the Wildcat a lesson she wouldn´t forget in some time. Stealthily she sneak up behind Tomo, moving on the grass behind the bench. Then she dug her fingers into the Wildcat´s sides and yelled "YO TOMO!". All in all it produced quite the satisfactory yelp, but that was all the fun she got.

Faster than she´d expect Tomo to be able to, Tomo spun around and hit Kagura right in the jaw with her fist, hard. Kagura was seeing spots and before she could recover Tomo had thrown her schoolbag at her gut, taken a step on the bench reached into a pocket and pounced upon her. Kagura landed heavily on the ground with Tomo on top of her. All the air got pushed out of her lungs and she heard a metallic "click". Kagura kept her eyes closed her eyes and gritted herself for another blow, but the followup never came.

"Oh, shit..." Kagura heard, then she looked up and saw Tomo wielding a switchblade, point downwards toward her in a fist. The last rays of the sun setting behind her hid her face in shadow. Kagura, still stunned, saw Tomo sheath her blade, leap off her and run at top speed towards the gate that lead to their respective neighbourhood.

Kagura looked after the Wildcat for a second before she decided that: "No way in Hell am I letting her get away by running from me!"

In a flash Kagura was up and running ( she even remembered Tomo´s schoolbag ).

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Kagura expected to catch up to Tomo during the first 100 metres , but it soon became evident that that wasn´t going to happen. Tomo had switched from her dead sprint into a run that surprised Kagura. There were no wasted movements and the rythmic movement of her legs wasn´t anything like the usual spastic way Tomo ran.

Her hopes of catching her fast faltered when Kagura realised that Tomo might´ve hidden her newfound athletism from her (and the others) for some time. To make matters worse Tomo suddenly jumped a chest-high fence and disappeared into a private garden.

Kagura cursed as she half-leaped, half-heaved, herself over the fence in a smooth motion. Feeling the round brick under her hands she barely spotted something blue disappear over the wall a dozen metres further up. The garden itself had a few half-naked trees spread out in no particular pattern. She heard a dog bark behind her as she sprinted across the garden and she heard a loud growl as she landed on the other side of the wall.

She didn´t have time to yell back at the dog at the moment though, since she almost missed Tomo dodging around a corner to her left. Before Kagura could round the corner herself she heard a lot of clutter and as she came round she saw Tomo running ahead of her. Five nudged over metal trashcans in her wake.

Kagura half-ran over the two first, one after the other. The last third , however, she leaped over in a Jackie Chan-esque move. She jumped forwards, then propelled her even more up and forwards by kicking off the wall.

If the situation had been any different there'd no question if she'd stop for a second or two to savour the moment with an: "...Awesome..."

Right now, however, catching Tomo was more important and she could hear an elderly woman´s voice cry out after her. Vague pastel coloured walls blurred past her as Kagura ran after the Wildcat, blue, purple, green and even pink eventually faded from her periphiral vision. After about five minutes of the high-speed chase Kagura felt her breathing starting grow laboured.

´Damn, not now! I won´t let this stand!´

Ahead of her Tomo kept up her seemingly never-tiring pace and Kagura realised she was getting further and further ahead of her. As Kagura watched Tomo preparing to leap yet another one of those tall fences her hopes faded since she wasn´t sure if she´d get out of the garden if there was another dog in there.

Still she managed to heave herself over the wall. She didn´t break her stride after her jump, but she gasped in relief and satisfaction when she saw Tomo´s foot not quite clearing the next edge. Tomo had mistaken one of those leaps by a few centimetres, but it was enough. Her foot caught and Tomo spun around, lost grasp of the edge, and landed badly on her foot on the other side of the barrier.

Kagura poured most of her remaining energy into the leap and heaved herself over the wall. Landing with a foot on either side of the prone Tomo Kagura stood above her sweating and panting like some forgotten goddess of the hunt. The wind rustled Kagura´s hair and her chest heaved and lowered as she tried to regain her breath. Tomo wasn´t panting quite as much as Kagura, but her breath was laboured as well.

After a little while Kagura tossed Tomo´s schoolbag to the pavement and crouched , back to the wall , tossed her head back and took a deep breath. Tomo saw Kagura´s face was flushed and dripping with sweat , some of which dripped off her nose and chin onto her chest.. After following the fall of the drops a few distracted seconds Tomo shook her head, then put clutched her foot in pain.

"Ouch, damnit, this here´s your fault."

Kagura only lifts an eyebrow and looks puzzled at Tomo, questions and guesses piling upon one another as she starts to think about what kind of situation Tomo could possibly be in.

"Oh, geez, looks like you´ll want an explanation..." Tomo waves her right arm dissmissively. " Feh, I guess I owe you one..."

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So, how was that? Please leave a review :D


	2. Sanitarium

First I want to say: Thanks for all the constructive critisicm I got :) I´ve previewed this chapter better ( I hope) with the help of a beta-reader and thorough checking. Some things might still elude me though, and being non-English doesn´t help either.  
All in all thanks for the reviews and I hope this chapter clears up a few things.

PS: Sorry about the last chapter being as vague as it was, but hey, it´s the first chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Azumanga Daioh.

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Kagura ate her dinner absently as she thought about her run-in with Tomo just thirty minutes ago. Even though she usually would've gulped down the curry in a few minutes, she was acting on autopilot and didn't notice the food she put in her mouth.

´What the hell was wrong with Tomo earlier today? Usually I should´ve been expecting a fierce revenge about now, instead of having her sock me instantly like that.´

Frowning, she decided to ignore the fact that Tomo had in fact had her at her mercy.

´ Then she leads me on a merry chase through the neighbourhood ( nearly losing me as well! ) before I catch her. And, of course, just when I've got her where I want her I have to return in time for dinner to avoid getting yet another lecture about my training habits. At least I´ll get to talk to her tomorrow at school. Still, I wond-´

Her train of thought was interrupted as her mother leaned over and poked her stomach. "Something wrong there? You're not eating like your usual self. Maybe we need to cut down on your training routines, it's not hea-" Kagura decided to nip this speech in the bud, before her parents decided to actually break her routine. " Ah, no it's not that Mom, I was just thinking about some school stuff. Say, did ya know Chiyo-chan went to Hawaii!?"

Having done this a thousand times by now it didn't take long before Kagura had derailed the conversation enough to finish her dinner and excuse herself from the table.

Hastily she washed off her plate and ran upstairs to take a shower.

As she stepped into her bedroom Kagura realised that she'd have to do her homework as school had started again.

Cursing she dismissed her plans for an hour of video games after pumping some weights. Homework wouldn't leave enough time for both.

As she read the classic lit piece Kimura had given for homework, she couldn't help but drift as she thought about her encounter with Tomo.

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_Kagura kept a wary eye open as Tomo seated herself properly , back towards the fence she'd failed to clear. She was not about to let Tomo get away again, but from the way she favoured her right leg it wasn't likely she would go for another attempt._

_"Well?" _

_Kagura demanded. She was annoyed at herself for not actually catching Tomo, annoyed with Tomo for her abnormal behaviour and still intrigued by the unusual situation. Her jaw ached as she rubbed it carefully, checking it for loose teeth. _

_"You can start with explaining why the hell you hit me like that! And where you learned to swing a punch like that. Oh! and where you got your knife. An-" The first time Kagura didn't hear what Tomo said, but she shut up when she noticed her mumbling something. "What was that?" Tomo looked up at her and sighed patronisingly. " I said that it's a reflex. A reflex." _

_"That's not like anything you've ever reacted before...And heaven knows we've pulled foolish pranks like that on each other since I first met you." _

_Tomo picked at a pebble on the concrete as she answered. "Well...that's because I'm in a different state of mind when I'm with you guys...ya know?"_

_"Different from what exactly?" Tomo looked at her. It was a challenging, dismissive look, but at the same time there was something...pleading...to it. _

_"Are you sure you want to know?" _

_"Hell , yes, I want to...oh shit..." Kagura suddenly remembered she was late for dinner. And that she didn´t want to find out what her parents would say if she stayed any longer. She bounded up and sprinted down the alleyway for all she was worth. She managed to shout an answer over her shoulder before she disappeared around the corner. "Gotta go! I´ll expect an answer tomorrow! Cya!"_

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_Tomo frowned at the corner Kagura had disappeared around. ´What was that about?´ After a moment of contemplating Tomo heard heavy steps and a rough voice coming from the house to her left. "What the hell is going on back here!? Just wait till I-" The voice faded as it reached the door to the alley and someone started turning the knob. _

_Tomo was up and running down the alley before the knob was fully turned. At first she almost tripped as she put her weight on her left foot , but she caught herself on the fence. She managed to hobble around a corner before the door opened and someone stepped outside. She heard a man's voice mumble something, but couldn't make it out. After a few seconds she heard the man step inside and close the door after him._

_Setting off she wondered how far she could push Yomi and still get dinner._

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As she climbed over the hedge to the Mizuhara´s garden Tomo could hear music from the back of the house. ´Good, her window is open.´ Tomo thought as a Cheshire grin grew on her face. In an exaggerated fashion she moved stealthily into position, peering around the corner at the window. It was open alright.

After listening for a few seconds, Tomo couldn't hear Yomi singing along to the sappy love song currently playing. Knowing for a fact that Yomi always sung or, at least, hummed to the music she listened to Tomo decided that this was her chance.

She jumped the metre to the window, trying to ignore the angry protest from her ankle, and peered inside carefully.

There was no Koyomi working diligently by the desk, but there were homework papers spread out in a systematic fashion.

´Gone to the toilet, or perhaps for a drink, Koyomi-kun? Ignorance is death!´

The Assassin kicked off her shoes and hid them close to the wall before she easily climbed in through the window. As she entered in the smooth fashion The Assassin flowed in under the bed, not making a single sound. Hiding in the shadows under the bed The Assassin knew she was as good as invisible to The Target's untrained eye.

She placed herself with her head at the door so that she could effortlessly become aware of the situation in the household.

The Target's mother was apparently washing dishes, for her horrible singing voice mixed with the sound of moving water and the muted noise of porcelain clanking against porcelain. From her position the Assassin could also make out the shadow of the soon-to-be-daughterless person as she moved about in the kitchen some way down the hall.

It took some seconds before The Target's location was confirmed. The bathroom door opening and closing down the hall announced her presence. The Target's heavy footsteps like a bell tolling for her as she strolled down the hall. She closed the door behind her as she entered, effectively sealing her fate.

The Assassin watched the white socks under brown trousers cross the floor to the desk. The Target reached over to turn the volume up a few notches, seated herself and continued her homework.

There was not a sound from The Assassin as she crawled out from under the bed and into a low crouch by the door. A few silent steps later The Assassin was in position to perform her deadly Quadruple-Vortex-Of-Snakeblood technique. The Target remained completely unaware of her fatal situation as she bobbed her head to the current pop idol's newest hit.

Launching herself into the air The Assassin yelled: "IGNORANCE IS DEATH!" and thwacked The Target with a karate chop to the top of her head.

Yomi´s reaction was just wonderful. The chop landed on her head just as she leaped up in reaction to the shout. Tomo wasn't expecting the next line of events to occur though. Yomi had been sitting so close to the desk , with her legs underneath it , that when she rose in a hurry she only got halfway before she knocked into the desk, lost her balance and fell back into the chair. By now she was clutching her head in reflex to the big amounts of pain it was in, so she didn't manage to grab anything before the chair tipped backwards.

Tomo was laughing hysterically as Yomi and her chair knocked her over and landed on Tomo´s hurt leg.

"OWW!" She managed to say before she pushed Yomi and the chair away from her legs, clutched her leg and broke into silent sobs.

Yomi had to think through what had happened these last few seconds before she came to herself. "It's your own damn fault, moron! That hit to the head bloody hurt! Have you switched your diet to steroids during the summer vacation or what!? Ow, ow, ow..." Apparently shouting didn't help her headache.

After focusing for a few seconds Yomi realised that Tomo was still sobbing. It didn´t take long before Tomo sucked it up and tried for a grin, but the tears on her face probably spoiled it a little.

"You should´ve seen your face Yomi! It was sooo awesome!" Yomi got up with a sigh as Tomo ranted on. Then she seated herself at the desk again.

When Yomi had her back facing her Tomo decided it was a good time to test out her leg. With help from Yomi´s chair she managed to stand up. Her ankle hurt like hell when she tested it.

"What are you up to now? " Yomi demanded as she turned in her chair. She took in Tomo´s pained expression and how she quite obviously did not put weight on her left leg. "Ah, it's nothing serious. " Tomo said as she leapt on one foot to the bed and seated herself carefully.

Tomo saw how Yomi´s left eyebrow arched and she knew she had been found out.

"I'm getting you an icebag for that swelling." Yomi said as she got up and headed towards the door. Suddenly something growled from her bed. Tomo knew she wasn't able to hide her blush.

"And some dinner."

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Yomi watched as her friend shovelled the curry into her mouth. It wasn't anything new, but it always amazed her how much food could disappear down Tomo´s throat. You'd never guess it from her petite frame, though. After taking a sip of her tea Yomi sighed. Some people had it easy with stuff like that.

´ Although ´ Yomi thought as she unconsciously made a motherly face. ´ Tomo got her share of problems as well, far more than me on any level. ´

Yomi stopped thinking for a second and inspected the Tomo in front of her and compared her to how she'd been during their first semester at High School.

The Tomo in front of her seemed gritted in areas, her eyes were still the same, but at times they lost their shine. Her hair was longer, a little past her shoulders. And she had become...rugged. Yomi could see the wiry calves and arms. Tomo had toughened up during these last years...she had had to.

Her train of thought was interrupted as Tomo grinned and thanked for her meal. " Rub-a-dub-dub Thanks for the grub! That curry was reaally good! "

´Lets get this over with then.´ Yomi took Tomo´s plate and set it on her desk, then turned around with her fists on her hips. " You've gotten into trouble with Shinjiro again."

Tomo turned to Yomi and looked like she was going to give some bogus story, but Yomi made her look just a little sterner and Tomo´s mouth closed again. Instead she swung her legs up on the bed and rolled over so she faced the wall.

Just as Yomi was about to make another inquiry Tomo begun to speak.

"It...It wasn't like I meant to meet up with him again. One day, during spring break, I was strolling down a street in one of the ´hoods, doing my thing, looking for a store where I could...uh, buy some juice."

Yomi seated herself on the chair by the desk. "Don't you mean "Steal some smokes" ? I know you've started _again_." Tomo rolled over again to face Yomi and gave her a disgruntled look. "Lets not start that discussion again, not now at least?" Yomi gave way under the stare and waved her hand for Tomo to continue.

"Well, anyway, I found a store and entered. It was just your average store, but it had quite a few aisles. So I went down to the one the furthest from the desk to see what kinds of juice they had. Then I saw him. He was with three members of his gang and they were standing around him. Somehow his low height never did seem to matter much for his status in the gang. Gesturing with his arms he was explaining them something, I didn't know at the time.

So, in the middle of his explanation he spots me and freezes, then he grinned...Oh, I should´ve known it was a bad idea from the beginning." Stifling a sob, Tomo pulls herself up and seats herself, back to wall. Then, hugging her knees, she continues.

" He strolled up to me in that confident walk of his, his slick, mean eyes locking our stares together, as he brushes some of his hair away from his face. He never did look like much, with that hair going to the base of his neck and with no facial hair. Normally you´d just brush him away as another delinquent."

" He said they were going to steal some cigarettes and they wanted me to distract the shopkeeper." Tomo shakes her head as she pauses briefly. " He said I could get a part of the prize. Shinjiro was as persuasive as ever, so I didn't even think about it until I tipped that aisle of instant-ramen. The shopkeeper was suspicious, of course, but he came running over to check what happened and the boys sneaked up to the register. I was busy trying to explain about the ramen when I heard them spring the register open.

We both rushed to the sound, but the only thing we saw was the last one of them rush out the door."

Yomi could see small trails of tears on Tomo´s face as she kept on going.

"I honestly hadn't suspected a thing , not even after how we split up last time. Supposedly it was just going to be a few cartons of cigarettes, you know?..." Tomo stifled a sniff. " Well, then the shopkeeper grabbed my arm real hard and demanded that I tell him everything. I cracked within seconds when he threatened with the police. So I spilled out everything, where they usually hang out, Shinjiro´s home address, everything. The shopkeeper was an elderly man and I guess he saw in my eyes that I´d been betrayed. He sent me packing out the door, yelling that I was never welcome there again. I ran the way I´d seen the others run, hoping they might be waiting for me, but after turning around a corner I sagged down and cried...I cried for some time, but when I came to myself I found this thing on the ground next to my feet."

Tomo pulled something from one of her pockets and tossed it towards Yomi. Yomi caught it and checked the item in her palm. It was a switchblade in lightning blue, with golden ends and a slick "S" at the top of the hilt. The trigger was also in gold.

"Y..You kept this?" Yomi pressed the trigger and the blade swung out with a metallic "Click".

"It's Shinjiro´s...I remember he'd threaten people with it, at least he did when I used to hang with him. He used to love that knife , now it's mine. Ironic, huh?"

Sheathing the blade Yomi laid it on her desk, behind her. Then she fixed another look on Tomo, this one wasn't quite as stern though.

"So, that was during spring break , what have you been up to this summer?"

Tomo looked up at her. "Not much...I've been avoiding Shinjiro´s friends most of the time. So, I've been running alot...even fighting. You'd be amazed how many punks he knows, Yomi. And none of them would hesitate to hit a girl...so, it´s been rough...even rougher than before." Yomi was starting to feel a little guilty when Tomo smiled a relieved smile at her.

"Even though most of you were busy with studying for mid-terms I'm glad for those moments we got. It's the only time I can really, be myself, you know?. Anyway, now that school's started again I should be relatively safe. "

As Tomo sat herself on the edge of the bed and sighed Yomi rose and sat down next to her. "I guess I should be going home now, sorry for angsting all over you, Yomi. It's not li-"

"Do you want to sleep over tonight Tomo?"

Yomi got her answer in the form of a Takino-tackle-hug. Just abit too sudden as usual it knocked her sprawling backwards on the bed.

"Oh, yes! Thank you Yom- Ouch! my foot!"

"You are a moron for sure!"

" No, I'm not! I just get caught in the moment sometimes."

"Sometimes!? More li-"

The fight continued for a few minutes before the two collapse on the bed, glad to be back in old routines, even if just for a few hours.

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When they'd gotten ready her futon Tomo stripped and changed into her borrowed pyjamas. Yomi´s clothes were just abit too big for her so she looked kinda like a little kid again.

Before she went to sleep Tomo checked her foot. The swelling had gone down to the point where you almost couldn´t see it anymore. Thinking of her injury made her remember that she had promised Kagura an explanation as well.

´ Damn, like more people need to know about this stuff. ´

It didn't take long before the two girls filled the room with the sound of gentle snoring.


	3. Some Things Never Change

Disclaimer: I don´t own Azumanga.

Well, I still suck at updating . ...this is a shot in the dark, and if things turn out alright I might do some more writing. It´s not that I don´t want to update, but more of a time issue. I would like to dedicate more time to writing, but it´s kind of a motivation issue as well . .

And about Tomo getting into better shape and smoking: It´s not like you instantly get lung-cancer from smoking. Tomo´s not a big-smoker either so with her new and increased (over the past year or so ) bodymass, forced exercise and so on she´s gotten more athletic. Considering her old state was pretty awful endurance-wise.

Anyway, enjoy :D

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Tomo blinked twice at the glaring light she had just rolled into, before she rolled over again and moaned. Laying there in the early morning light, mind half-asleep, it took her a little while to acknowlede the various homely sounds around the house.

' Nothing like my place, that´s for sure. '

She could hear the radio running in the kitchen along with the sound of a frying pan stirring. The shower was also running, so she assumed Yomi was no longer in her bed.

Groggily Tomo sits up and rubs her right eye. She then yawns untill her jaw protests before she checks her leg.

After pushing away her blanket she pulls her foot towards her and run her hands over it, checking for swelling and pain. To her pleasant surprise it´s neither swollen nor hurting anymore. With a cheer she jumps up on her feet and does a little victory dance.

" Of course, nothing can keep Takino still for long!"

"That is , sadly, true. "

The unexpected voice from the door sent a shudder through Tomo before she covered her surprise by leaping towards it.

" YEAH! And don´t you now it Koyomi-kun? Now, lets grab some breakfast! "

Yomi had to step to the side or be run over as Tomo ran through the door and down the hall in her over-sized pyjamas. She heard Tomo greet her mother cheerily and her mother respond fondly. Tomo was a welcome guest in the Mizuhara household since she was alot cheerier than Yomi herself. Miss Mizuhara liked having one around who would eat all the fattening-vein-clogging dishes she put on the table.

As she got dressed Yomi distinctly noticed the promises of eggs and bacon wafting into her room.

' Ok, I´ll get some just to make her happy. ' Was her justification as she stepped into the kitchen.

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Apparently it was going to be a hot, but stormy day. There was a pretty strong wind blowing and a few ominous clouds on the horizon. When she saw this Yomi decided to get an umbrella for later before she was pulled outside by an energetic Tomo. The pulling didn´t subside one bit as they made their way down the pavement.

"Waha! It´s great when it´s windy like this isn´t it!? I mean as long as it´s not pouring down as well it´s awesome!"

Yomi just watched the Wildcat as she jumped and frolicked down the street ahead of her. Suddenly Tomo stopped and stared, off in another world.

"What is it Tomo? Is something wrong?"

" I just remembered that I gotta explain stuff to Kagura today."

"Stuff?...Why?"

" Oh, nothing, I just had a little run-in with her yesterday. Socked her, pulled my knife on her and tried to run away, only to hurt my leg as I half-assedly jump across a fence. Needless to say she caught up, sweating like a pig, wheezing and puffing while her tw..."

" I have a hard time believing that, and what´s with your fixation about her breasts!? "

"Easy, easy Koyomi-kun, I was just stating facts while I described the situation. Anyway she demanded an explanation, taking advantage of my vulnerable condition , I might add, then she ran off saying she was in a hurry and wanted it today."

"Well...she kinda deserve one, after you punched her like that. Anyone would be curious at the least."

"...I don´t need more people to know about this, y´know?..."

Yomi looked at Tomo´s face. She seemed sad, but Yomi could almost hear the silent cry for help. Tomo might not want to burden other people with her life, but she needed help.

" Still, you can´t _not_ tell her. That´d be abit awkward now wouldn´t it? Anyway, I think you´re just intimidated by her breast-size with those pea-pods you got there."

"What!? Like I would by intimidated by someone who..."

Tomo kept up the tirade all the way to the school gate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kagura had spent all her waking hours pondering about whatever could´ve happened to Tomo. Scenario after weird scenario had kept popping up in her head untill she´d somehow fallen asleep. When she woke up again ( overslept 15 minutes as usual ) she´d surged through the house like a tornado and it wouldn´t be untill she settled in the classroom she had remembered Tomo.

Tomo arrived with Yomi just an instant before Yukari came crashing into the classroom. Yukari looked like she was in a good mood , nothing incredibly over the top, but like someone who woke up to a pleasant surprise. The result was an easy-going atmosphere as she went into the subject at hand.

This didn´t help Kagura much, though, since she was on the far side of the classroom and Tomo was by the hallway. She decided that she´d corner Tomo after school, which would be ok, since she didn´t have any formal training to attend to.

Tomo was herself all through the day, even in P.E she seemed to be the usual energetic, non-enduring ditz. Kagura was abit concerned about that part, since she wasn´t so sure if Tomo would give her a run for her money when she challenged her ( as usual ) to a 100 metre track. When she cleared the finishing line a good 25 metres before Tomo she turned and glared at the stumbling figure. She´d had enough crap for now, she wouldn´t take the challenge of someone who faked loosing and didn´t put up a real fight. As Tomo slid over the finishing line Kagura grabbed her and practically dragged her away from the others.

"Ouch, hey! What´re ya doing Kagura? You got a problem with winning as well these days?"

"Shut up! Just for a second will ya!?"

Kagura didn´t say anything else untill they got to the wall to the wardrobes. She did notice the weird looks the rest of the class were giving them though.

She ignored them and poked Tomo, hard.

"Why aren´t you running like yesterday!? You can do tons better than what you just did!"

"Hey, what´re you talking about? I ran as fast as I possibly can just now."

"Oh, please, I´m an athlete Tomo, it´s what I do. And I know more than enough to see that you were not running your best! "

"Are you calling me a liar!? I´ll have you know that.."

"Whatever! Just don´t expect me to accept any more challenges from you!"

And with that Kagura stomped back to the track. She passed the others without a word and resumed her practice.

The rest of the class looked puzzled from Kagura to Tomo and back again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When the bell rang the end of the day Tomo leaped up from her seat and bounded out the door. Protests screamed by Yukari followed her down the hall.

She jumped down the stairs four steps at the time and was by the exit in seconds. She sprinted out the door and to her great dismay Kagura was standing in the middle of the school gate.

"Shit...no way out then."


	4. Tears in the Rain

Disclaimer: I don´t own Azumanga Daioh :(

A/N: Soo, I managed to write another chapter within a month, I´m almost not disappointed :p. This will take things abit more into the M rating. There will be minor sexual references, some violence, abit more angst and to end it off a wee bit of teaser shoujo-ai.  
I think I need some more practise with delinquents and describing surroundings :-/

The chapter is perhaps abit short, but it seemed a nice place to wrap things up.

I hope you´ll enjoy it and I thank all of you good reviewers out there for being motivated to write this 3.

PS:"..." insinuate a switch of scene.

Dark clouds were gathering above the city as Kagura listened to Tomo´s story at a cafe. They were the only customers left in the cafe, the other customers had left one after another when the storm had started to build up for real.

The wallpapers had sunflowers all over a pastel green. The young waitress in her white and red uniform was muttering to herself by the cash register, apparently some customers thought they could just order a coffee and stay for hours.

Not that Kagura heard anything as she was too pre-occupied with Tomo´s narration. The whole thing was unbelievable. Tomo being delinquent was nothing new, well, not to a lesser degree at least, but for her to actually shoplift, get a delinquent boyfriend and getting in all sorts of trouble like that? Kind of a shocker.

What amazed her even more was how Tomo had managed to keep it all hidden for such a long time. Yomi as well, then again, the two were kind of close.

"So now I´m being accused by Shinjiro´s little lapdogs for getting him in the slammer. Sheesh, I´m pretty much kill-on-sight for any of those thugs, and there´s quite a lot of them."

" No way! Have you had any trouble with them yet?"

"Well...it wasn´t that bad when there was schooldays, I only had to deal with them during weekends then, but it gets a lot worse during vacations. I´ve pretty much been hiding and running all summer."

"Why don´t you tell the cops!? I´m sure they coul-"

" Do what? Take them in for interrogation, only to have them mention the numerous times when I was in on something illegal? I can´t allow myself to get something on my permanent record." Tomo sat back, pulled up her legs and hugged her knees, before continuing in a softer voice. "Besides...they´d probably arrest my parents...and I would have to move in with another family."

"Wait! Arrest your parents!?"

"A little louder please, I think somebody in Hokkaido didn´t hear you."

"S-sorry, but arrest your parents?"

Tomo sighed before continuing, this wasn´t something she´d told anybody, well except Yomi.

"Y-you could say they have an unhealthy habit...or two."

"Unhealthy _habit_!? Please tell me it´s that they smoke a pack a day or something like that."

" Sorry, can´t do that, it´d be lying. And we all know how Tomo´s all about honesty, rig- SHIT!"

Tomo leapt to her feet and looked down the street to her right before glancing back up to where she´d spotted the boys.  
Sure enough, there were two of Shinjiro´s thugs, and after looking down the street the other way she had spotted three more.

"W-what is it Tomo? All I can see are some delinquents smoking on the...oh...they´re not, aren´t they?"

"Yes, they are, I will remember those ugly mugs to the end of my days, which might not be so far off considering. Sorry to drag you in to this Kag, but I´m pretty sure those are guards."

With that Tomo grabbed her schoolbag and ran up to the counter.

"Excuse me, is there a backdoor we could leave by?"

The sour-faced waitress frowned before she smiled a fake apologetic smile and said: "I´m sorry, but the backdoor is for personnel only, now-"  
The rest of her sentence went right over Tomo´s head as Tomo spotted an open door through the kitchen. She grabbed Kagura by the arm and dragged her towards the kitchen. As they passed through the kitchen they accidentally knocked over a few pots and pans, somewhere behind them they heard yelling. Suddenly as they were closing in on the exit a young man in his early twenties blocked their path. He had a fag in his lips and wasn´t a very good shaver.

Tomo didn´t hesitate a split second as he appeared, just gave him a swift kick to the groin and ran past when he fell over, cursing. Kagura flinched in empathic pain.

Once outside they came into a parking lot and on the other side were another four thugs. Tomo didn´t hesitate a second before she ran to her left towards an alley across the street. Kagura wasn´t far behind. She could hear the boys shouting and that they were running towards them. As they entered the alley a thunderclap rang out and an incredibly heavy rain started to fall.

Dodging and weaving Kagura barely managed to keep up with Tomo, she wasn´t used to running this way, jumping around corners and such. She could hear many heavy footsteps behind her as well as male voices taunting them.Ahead of her Tomo ran out of sight around a corner, Kagura wasn´t far behind, but as she turned around the corner her foot caught on something and she fell flat on her stomach.  
Even before she had regained her wits she heard the footsteps behind her fall to a halt. Fear in her mind she looked over her shoulder. And the whole alley was full of males. Some were still in their school uniform and some wore random clothing, a few were bald and some had nothing on their upper bodies.

Kagura glared at them.

"Sooo, waddya think we should do with this one? Looks rather feisty to me." A big one in school uniform walked up to her and hoisted her up by her arms, he then got both her arms behind her back. Kagura tried to fight him, but he was too strong.

"I dunno Kon-kun. She looks pretty fine, mighty finer than that brat I´d say. And these boobs! Yes, this one will be a lot better than that brat."

The bald one, in school uniform, who had been talking stepped forward and made as if to grab Kagura´s chest. Kagura quickly remedied that by kicking him in the nuts, no sympathetic pain this time.

Out of nowhere a punch came and threw Kagura´s head to her right and her head spun, before she could realise what had happened another came. After a few seconds she was pretty sure she could taste blood in her mouth and add a few loose teeth.

"We can´t have that kind of behaviour from bitches like you! I think you should apologise to Yoshi-kun, he´s such a fragile young boy who doesn´t have a lot of confidence with uptight bimbos like yourself."

The guy she had kicked got up from his knees, went over and punched her once in the stomach, then once again in the face. After a few more half-hearted punches the anger on his face changed to lust. He ripped open Kagura´s uniform top and admired her chest for about a second or so before he said. "I think she should apologise to little Yoshi as well...kiss and make up so to say."

The other guys roared in laughter at his pun.

Without warning the guy behind her brought her to her knees. Her kneecaps hurt as hell as they smashed into the concrete, the puddle of water she now kneeled in was cold.

The guy in front of her had pulled down his fly and gotten out his limb. Kagura resolutely shut her mouth, but it was not to be.

"Think you´re smart aren´t ya?"

He clenched her nose together and shut off her air-supply. ´Nonononono´ Kagura repeated over and over in her mind as she felt the tightness in her chest grow. She stared at the thing in front of her face and wondered if she could bite through it. As she pondered she could hear a pitter-patter of footsteps in the water growing closer. And then suddenly a sickening crunch and a battlecry could be heard above her. The guy in front of her took a few steps back before he had a fist-sized stone hit his nose.

Kagura couldn´t help but stare as Tomo charged out from behind her into the gang of delinquents. She was armed with a lead pipe which she wielded with all her might as she broke noses and caused bruises to a big degree. The small space and confusion worked to her advantage with her small frame and speed.

"KAGURA, RUN DAMNIT RUN!"

Kagura snapped out of her shocked state, got to her feet and leapt down the alleyway away from the ruckus. She heard a loud "Clank!" and suddenly Tomo was at her side as they dove through the rain.

Finally the girls had escaped their followers, they were hiding in a cluster of bushes in a park and had been doing so for the last 15 minutes.

Kagura was hugging her knees and sobbing uncontrollably. Tomo weren´t really good with these situations. Her and Kagura were soaked to the bone and it was starting to get a bit chilly. Tomo laid her left arm over Kagura´s back and leaned her head on her shoulder, trying to hold back tears of her own.

"I-I´m s-so sorry Kagura, t-this is why I never told anybody else. I didn´t want for anybody else to get hurt."

"SHUT UP!"

Kagura´s sudden outburst caught Tomo off-guard and she fell on her butt on the muddy ground.

"ANYBODY ELSE!? How the hell can you deal with this!? This kind of thing happens every weekend for you!? And what abou-...what did you say?"

"Pretty much...You know there have been times when they´ve actually caught me...after they were...finished with me...they left me in a pile of garbage in some alley, I just fell asleep then and there..." Now it was Tomo´s turn to sob uncontrollably. "..it hurt so much Kagura! They´d tormen-"

"Hush...just, hush. Tomo."

Kagura forgot her own shock as she comforted the shaking girl as Tomo confessed about all of her experiences. When it didn´t seem like Tomo was going to stop Kagura got an arm around her and helped her up. It didn´t take much effort concerning Tomo´s frame. Kagura looked around for the first time in a long while and realised she knew this park, it wasn´t very far from her neighbourhood. With Tomo on a drag she started moving them towards her house.

Kagura opened the door and stumbled into the hallway. She kicked off her wet shoes and socks and stepped into her slippers. They were incredibly fortunate in the fact that Kagura´s mother had to travel to a lot in her job and thus had the house to themselves. Suddenly she realised she was alone in the hallway, when she checked Tomo was standing outside looking rather hesitant.

"Ah, uhm, are you sure this is ok?"

"It´s ok, we´re the only ones here. Now get in here and get out of that wet uniform!"

"I didn´t know you played on the other team Kags, will I be safe here all alone with you in this big old house?"

It took a second before Kagura realised what Tomo was insinuating and she blushed furiously.

"Shut up! If there are anybody who should be worried here it´s me! With your obvious obsession of a certain spectacled girl!"

Now it was Tomo´s turn to blush. "It´s nothing like that and you know it, we´re only friends. Now, where´s your bathroom?"

"Upstairs and to the right."

"Thanks."

As Tomo stormed up the stairs Kagura looked after her. ´Why had she blushed at that? These kinds of banters were usual among the two, albeit Ayumu and Yomi were also in on the fun sometimes. At least it used to be just fun, now that it was just her and Tomo all alone it seemed...kind of like flirting? Kagura blushed once more at the indecent thought, but couldn´t get it off her mind. Somehow she felt she´d grown closer to Tomo these last two days...

She was still contemplating the issue when Tomo came trotting back downstairs.

"Hey, sexy! How about we get out of these wet clothes and into something comfortable, even though you´re exposing a lot already."

Kagura looked at herself and realised her blouse was half-open and so wet you could see through it and her skirt clang to her thighs.

Tomo was just as wet, but didn´t look as trashy. She looked more like a lost little child who you can´t resist going "awww" at.

"Shut up, you look like a little kid you brat. I got extra pyjamas upstairs."

"Oooh, now you´re obviously trying to get me into bed with you."

After a while they both managed to get into their pyjamas, eat some food and eventually get to bed. There was only one problem. There was only one bed.

"What´s this Kagura-kun? Surely you cannot deny the facts now, inviting me into your bed."

"Shut up, it´s big enough for the both of us. Now unless you want to sleep on the sofa downstairs get in bed."

"Ok, ok."

As Tomo went under the cover Kagura turned off the lights and followed her. Unfortunately Kagura didn´t manage to fall to sleep. She was worried about what had happened and couldn´t stop thinking about it. Suddenly she felt Tomo´s hands embrace her, after those followed her legs. Kagura heard Tomo mumble something followed by her name. When she turned around to tell Tomo to get off she noticed her friend was sleeping.

´So this is subconscious, huh? Well, it´s something more to tease her about.´

Her thoughts about that afternoon slipped away and Kagura fell asleep in the embrace of Tomo, safe and away from the cruel world for now.


End file.
